10 Great Reasons to Support CBEMR - A newly launched website depicting the importance of mangroves and the methods of restoration that are so important for the future of these habitats. The website has been designed to support our crowd-funding campaign which we're still looking to reach it's goal. Enjoy and share! CLICK HERE

Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
We are in need of your help more than everClick here

We continue our protest!
A global alliance of hundreds of NGOs in Asia, Latin America, Africa, North America and Europe have been protesting for several years against WWF, its Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue and its lack of concern for the environment and local peoples’ livelihoods. READ MORE

It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

Note to Our Readers:We strive to keep active links in our newsletter. However, due to circumstances beyond our control, occasionally links to stories may become broken. If you find a link to a story is not functioning, please cut and paste the headline into your browser search bar. In most cases you should be able to locate the original story.

SHARE MAP'S VISION Please spread the word by sharing MAP's latest effort to raise awareness of mangroves and the role they play in global climate change mitigation CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".
FEATURED STORYFrom the Executive Director - The rapidly expanding shrimp aquaculture industry poses one of the gravest threat to the world's remaining mangroves. Over a million hectares of lush mangrove forests have been cleared to make room for the artificial shrimp ponds of this boom and bust industry. This highly volatile enterprise has grown exponentially over the last 25 years, leaving devastating ruin in its wake. The failure of national governments to adequately regulate the shrimp industry, and the headlong rush of multilateral lending agencies to fund aquaculture development without meeting their own stated ecological and social criteria, are other important pieces to this unfortunate puzzle. The fate of remaining mangrove forests may now rest in the hands of the consumers from the wealthy nations that import these luxury shrimp products. Since a highly profitable and expanding market is the driving force behind the shrimp industry, a worldwide reduction in consumer demand for pond-raised shrimp is called for.
Meanwhile, stricter local governmental regulations and enforcement protecting mangroves are necessary. Also, involvement of local communities in sustainably managing and protecting their coastal resource base, including the nearby mangrove forests, is essential. As well, pressure must be brought to bear on the purveyors of shrimp in the US, the EU and Japan, where large retail stores and restaurant chains such as Costco, Walmart and Red Lobster continue to promote shrimp over-consumption in order to further their profits at the expense of both the environment and coastal communities dependent upon the mangrove forests. And now, the spotlight on this industry must also fall upon the slave trade and human rights abuses connected with the production process as evidenced by this recent expose by the Guardian News!

Editorial: I'm boycotting tropical prawns. But slavery demands a political solution
By Felicity Lawrence
The Guardian, Wednesday 18 June 2014
Should we boycott prawns? I have been asked that question repeatedly since the Guardian's investigation revealing the use of slaves in the chain that brings them from Thailand to our plates. The slavery we uncovered was no metaphor – we found trafficked migrants who had been bought and sold, and forced with extreme violence to work at sea for no pay for years. The fish they catch is used to make feed for intensive prawn production by the world's largest producer and supermarket supplier, CP Foods. Is it right to eat products that depend on such fundamental abuse of human rights? Consumer boycotts have been influential in bringing about change – against the horrors of apartheid, for instance – but on their own they have absolute limits. Just because slavery has been found in part of the food chain, we should not delude ourselves that changing the shopping basket will be enough. READ MORE

View Guardian's video documentary about human trafficking in the shrimp feed business HERE

ASIA

Development Threatens Papuan Mangrove Forests
PAPUA - Development in the lowland areas of Timika is fueling deforestation and threatening mangrove forests, raising the potential impact of climate change. “We see a serious threat to the lowland areas because many protected areas are already being converted into development areas,” said best management practice specialist with USAID Indonesia Forest of Climate Support (IFACS), Prianto Wibowo. Wibowo said the opening of mangrove forest areas to development would have an impact on peat-land forests as their damage would cause high levels of abrasion. He said his office would work closely with the National Land Agency (BPN), which has the power to issue certificates for mangrove forest clearance. “We will work closely with BPN so we can have information which locations already have certificates in order to determine steps to protect the mangrove forests,” he said. READ MORE

New threat to Sundarban mangroves
BANGLADESH - Bangladesh recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China to set up a 1320 MW coal-based power plant in Patuakhali, a location also close to the Sundarbans. According to Chinese Ambassador Li Jun in Dhaka, who was present at the deal signing ceremony, the project will involve a cost of about $2 billion. This will be the second such project after the 1320MW Rampal power project in Bagerhat for which Bangladesh signed a contract with neighbouring India. Bangladeshi state-owned North West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) and Chinese state-owned China National Machinery Import Export Corporation (CMC) will build the power plant under a joint venture. Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury said this is the part of the government’s plan to boost electricity generation by setting up coal-fired power plants. READ MORE

Oil, Gas Committee blasts PM for her Rampal Power Plant remarks
BANGLADESH – National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports has blasted the prime minister for what it said misleading the nation on the plans to set up coal fired Rampal Thermal Power Plant close to the Sunderbans.
In a statement to the press, Committee convener Sheikh Muhammad Shaheedullah and member secretary Anu Muhammad said that in her news conference on return from China she gave some wrong information and arguments as to why the government chose to set up the coal fired power plant so close to the Sunderbans. The information and arguments she gave were bound to mislead the people, they said. They said that the prime minister was utterly wrong in saying that those who were opposing the coal fire fired power plant never cared to visit the project site or collect its information. READ MORE

Sand mining – dredging every last grain within a coastal protected area
CAMBODIA - Last month (May 2014), villagers living in one of Cambodia’s coastal protected areas (Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary), were shocked to realize that sand mining was taking place within a kilometer of their fishing village, in the zone designated specifically for villagers to protect their environment. Armed with their maps and paper documents showing signatures from relevant authorities (including the Minister of Environment), the Village Management Committee and local Park Rangers showed the company their papers. Sand mining stopped for a few days: this, however, was a short-lived victory. Company officials, according to sources familiar with this case, met with the Chief of the provincial Department of Environment claiming that they had an appropriate license and operations resumed soon after this meeting. So, why is the provincial Chief ignoring policy that the Ministry of Environment, which he is a member of, has signed off on? And, who would sign a license to enable sand mining to take place within the community zone of a protected area? While it is unclear who has signed the company papers, someone is clearly supporting the sand mining from higher levels since the sand mining is in clear contravention of the Community-Based Protected Areas Management Sub-Decree. READ MORE

Sri Lanka opens its largest aquaculture project in Chilaw
SRI LANKA - Prawn farms were thriving in the vast marshes along the Puttalam lagoon when they first started in the mid-1980s and reached a climax in 1994 with owners making huge profits. However, with the 1994 elections some of these farms were attacked and supporters of the new government set up prawn farms along the buffer zones and even government reserves. Due to this haphazard creation of farms and with the emergence of the ‘White Spot’ disease, the total prawn industry collapsed and with this the massive rural economy that built up in that area (through this industry) too, crashed. Hope is now growing that this entire abandoned area could be transformed into productive aquaculture to rear different kinds of fish, particularly after Sri Lanka’s largest aquaculture project began in 2012 in Ambakandawila, Chilaw. READ MORE

Green enforcers check the mangroves
PHILLIPPINES - Restoring mangrove swamps is a valuable way of protecting coasts against storm damage. But it needs more than good intentions, as experience in the Philippines shows. The Philippines has invested in a new greening programme that includes reforestation through mangrove planting after the country was hit by supertyphoon Haiyan in 2013, but locals say there is not enough research and investment done in the initiative, as some of the initially planted seedlings bore infestations. At one of the Greening Program’s sites newly planted propogules (long single stems which the mangrove drops in order to reproduce) have been infested by barnacles. Considerable manpower has been used to clean the stems repeatedly but, as the committee points out, it would have been better spent planting in areas free from barnacles to begin with. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Estimated extinction of mangroves in Baja region tops 50% by 2025
MEXICO - The Gulf of California contains low levels of mangrove forests. By contrast, on the Pacific Ocean coast where it is located, mangroves were once abundant. In a study by the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Conabio) satellite images of the ecosystems in the northwestern region of Mexico was compared over time. In the document, the agency reported that the annual rate of mangrove loss is 2.5 percent and the trend is expected to continue. Projections estimate that by 2025 more than half of remaining mangrove species will be lost. Of the 60 species of mangrove in the world, the Mexican coastline is home to only four varieties: Red (Rhizophora mangle), Black (Avicennia germinans), White (Laguncularia racemosa) and Button (Conocarpus erectus). READ MORE (en Espanol)

Study looks at the situation mangrove beaches of Todos Santos
MEXICO - A fragment of what is to be developed by investors in the real estate and tourism industry in Todos Santos, will be analyzed within the "Long-term monitoring of the structure of the mangrove community and environmental characterization in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora. " The project tendered by the National Biodiversity Commission (Conabio) was awarded to various research centers, including the Research Program in Marine Botany Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS).Despite studies by schools of education, extension information covering the Baja California peninsula of mangrove forests is still inaccurate and Sonora requires a full evaluation. READ MORE (en Espanol)

EUROPE

UN officials call for restoration of ecosystems to reduce climate change disasters
SWITZERLAND – Marking the World Day to Combat Desertification, United Nations officials emphasized the importance of restoring degrading lands to avoid or soften the potentially disastrous impacts of climate change. “Land degradation, caused or exacerbated by climate change, is not only a danger to livelihoods, but also a threat to peace and stability,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the World Day, observed annually on 17 June. He noted that recovering land that is degrading will have multiple benefits. “We can avert the worst effects of climate change, produce more food and ease competition over resources. We can preserve vital ecosystem services, such as water retention, which protects us from floods or droughts. “And a comprehensive and large-scale approach to land recovery can create new jobs, business opportunities and livelihoods, allowing populations to not only survive, but thrive,” he stated. READ MORELAST WORD

MAP celebrates with children’s mangrove art contest
On June 5, 2014, MAP celebrated the World Environment Day. For the event, we organized an art contest at the Ban Sai Kuan School, gathering 26 students from 6 schools in the sub-district of Kao Mai Kaew, Trang province. Seven teachers from the six elementary schools and four people from the TAO (Sub-District Administrative Office) staff participated in the contest, including the TAO Chief Administrator, Mrs. Patcharin Thepkaew.

The contest started with a short ceremony with principal of the Ban Sai Kuan School, Mr. Jamrongsak Seesamai, giving a speech and then MAP presented certificates to the teachers for their participation and involvement in mangrove protection.

The rules were simple: two hours to draw the mangrove and its entire ecosystem. Every student participated with enthusiasm and produced great drawings.

After, the jury, composed of MAP staff, teachers and the TAO chief, viewed the art pieces and selected the three best drawings. The prizes were three kits for drawing with colored pencils and pens. More over, every participants and every teacher received a water bottle in order to reduce plastic waste caused by disposal drinking water bottle which pollute the environment where ever humans go.

The morning finished with a shared lunch with teachers and TAO staff: an occasion to thank all the participants for their collaboration and involvement.

Thanks to our mangrove projects supporter, the Global Nature Fund, and to the TAO Chief, Mr. Peerapan Rangmuang for his collaboration.

By: Delphine Gébelin, MAP Volunteer Intern

~ WE WELCOME YOUR LETTERS - If you’d like to have the last word on this or any other mangrove related topic, please send us your submission for upcoming newsletters. We’ll choose one per issue to have “the last word”. While we can’t promise to publish everyone’s letter, we do encourage anyone to post comments on our Blog at www. mangroveactionproject.blogspot.com

Please cut and paste these news alerts/ action alerts on to your own lists and contacts. Help us spread the word and further generate letters of concern, as this can make a big difference in helping to halt a wrongdoing or encourage correct action.

Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
We are in need of your help more than everClick here

We continue our protest!
A global alliance of hundreds of NGOs in Asia, Latin America, Africa, North America and Europe have been protesting for several years against WWF, its Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue and its lack of concern for the environment and local peoples’ livelihoods. READ MORE

It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

Note to Our Readers:We strive to keep active links in our newsletter. However, due to circumstances beyond our control, occasionally links to stories may become broken. If you find a link to a story is not functioning, please cut and paste the headline into your browser search bar. In most cases you should be able to locate the original story.

SHARE MAP'S VISION Please spread the word by sharing MAP's latest effort to raise awareness of mangroves and the role they play in global climate change mitigation CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".
FEATURED STORYPositive cracks in in the view of (CBEMR) approach.
THAILAND - Some signs of encouraging progress and program success are now more evident, emerging from the challenging work of the MAP Asia office in Thailand. There seems to be some positive cracks in some corners of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) towards favorable viewing of the Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) approach. MAP has been promoting CBEMR as a best foot forward when attempting mangrove restoration. Progress has been hampered, however, by several factors, and chief among these is the complex land tenure issues making it extremely difficult to secure available sites to implement restoration. With an estimated over 400,000 ha of abandoned shrimp farms worldwide, which were mangroves, one would think access to these defunct sites, which now sit idle and unproductive, would be a given. Nevertheless, private landowners and those with lease contracts are not willing to allow restoration for fear of losing their land titles to government regulation if the sites are returned to their previous natural state as functional mangrove wetlands. In essence, they would rather see these abandoned sites remain unproductive and disused gambling on a rival of a profitable shrimp industry or speculating on oil palm demand than to see them returned back to productive mangroves. READ MORE

ASIA

Some questions for Dorjee Sun about the Ulu Masen REDD project
INDONESIA - Last year I wrote a series of posts about the Ulu Masen REDD project, based on interviews with NGOs and indigenous leaders in Aceh. Missing from the story is Dorjee Sun’s version of events. Dorjee Sun is the CEO of Carbon Conservation, the company that was supposed to be implementing the Ulu Masen REDD project. When I visited Aceh, with Down to Earth and Jaringan Komunitas Masyarakat Adat Aceh (Network of Indigenous Communities in Aceh – JKMA), there was little to been seen of any REDD project. “We’ve never seen anything from REDD. It’s like the wind. We can’t see it, can’t touch it,” Anwar Ibrahim, an indigenous leader told us. In December 2013, I sent some questions to Dorjee Sun in an attempt to find out what happened to the money that Carbon Conservation raised to implement the Ulu Masen project and whether the project has in fact now been abandoned. Sun talks about the Ulu Masen REDD project as one of his success stories READ MORE

First Shrimp Farm Enters ASC Assessment
VIET NAM - Shrimp producer, Quoc Viet, has become the first farm to enter into assessment against the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Shrimp Standard for well-managed and responsible farms. If successful, Quoc Viet will be eligible carry the ASC logo on it products. Quoc Viet supplies customers from the US, Japan, EU, Australia, Canada, Korea, South East Asia and other countries. In 2013 the company supplied 15,000mt of shrimp and it aims to increase that to 20,000t in 2014. Viet Nam is the third biggest exporter of farmed shrimp globally. Around 90 per cent of its total volume is exported. The family-owned business, based in Camau Province Viet Nam, has been working with WWF Viet Nam to support small scale shrimp farms in improving their own operations as they aim to also achieve ASC certification. “For us as a family business it is fundamental that our farming systems are operating responsibly with minimal environmental and social impacts. It’s the right thing to do,” said Ngo Quoc Tuan, Vice President, Quoc Viet. READ MORE

Shrimp farms fuel a seafood export boom
INDIA – Shrimp farms have spurred a marine products exports growth in the country, with the total seafood exports crossing a whopping USD 5 billion during 2013-14. While seafood has shown a cumulative growth of 5.98 per cent in production over last year, shrimp industry has emerged as a tremendous value adder with frozen shrimp exports contributing to 64.12 per cent of the total USD earnings. Even as the shrimp industry in the East Asian countries was facing threat of extinction due to the dreaded Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) infection , Indian shrimp industry has shown resilience and strong growth. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority, the robust growth in the production of L.Vannamei shrimps is the main contributor to this growth story. While the production of the species has increased from 91,171 MT in 2012-13 to 1,75,071 MT in 2013-14, its export has grown by 92.03 per cent, contributing significantly to the country’s export and dollar earnings. Export of L.Vannamei shrimps to the US market alone has grown by 59.63 per cent. Speaking to The Hindu , Leena Nair, chairperson, MPEDA, attributed the robust growth to various factors. READ MORE

AMERICAS

U.S. Increases Support to Conserve Forests, Ease Climate Change
USA - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on May 28 announced its support for the Althelia Climate Fund to lend up to $133.8 million in commercial financing for forest conservation and sustainable land use. Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement via video message at the Carbon Expo in Cologne, Germany, USAID said in a news release the same day. The financing will help remove 100 million tons of carbon -- the equivalent of 18.5 million cars -- from the atmosphere, USAID said. USAID will offer a new risk-sharing loan guarantee through its Development Credit Authority that will enable Althelia to finance hundreds of forest-based businesses in developing countries that rely on sustainably managed land use for their livelihoods. Althelia is the first private-sector fund dedicated to forest conservation at this scale. READ MORE

Safeguarding the sentinels
US VIRGIN ISLANDS – Like giants dipping their toes into the briny sea, tall red mangrove trees appear to wade in the waters of Salt River Bay, standing on half-submerged roots that tangle all around them. Up to fifty feet high, these formidable titans cluster at the edge of the water protecting the land and the bay from each other: acting as powerful sentinels that shield the land and its inhabitants from waves, wind, hurricanes and tsunamis, and keeping natural contaminants from reaching the water. Mangroves filter solid waste, bacteria, fertilizers and pollutants and provide a place for silt to accumulate, so it does not reach the water and make it too cloudy to absorb sunshine—which is so essential to native sea grasses and coral, and the marine life, bioluminescence, and endangered species that co-exist in Salt River Bay. Mangroves play an integral part in creating the mangal, or ecosystem, that is home to the unique diversity of life forms in Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The park, which measures 145 hectares (approximately 358 acres), currently includes 19 hectares of mangrove forest— the largest remaining mangrove forest in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its footprint has been drastically reduced, though, and faces the threat of additional minimization in the years ahead. READ MORE

Nearly 40% of Bimini seabed already gone
Bahamas - There may soon be nothing left in Bimini to argue over according to attorney Fred Smith, QC, as a massive seafloor dredging operation was allowed to continue during a court postponement, with 38% of the work already complete thanks to a “dramatically increased” rate of excavation. Mr. Smith, who represents Bimini Blue Coalition (BBC), a group of activists and concerned citizens seeking to protect Bimini’s invaluable marine resources in the face of the construction of a mega-resort and 1,000 foot ferry terminal, said that according to the developer’s own reports, 53,000 cubic yards had been dredged between May 16th and 21st , but over the next two days the total jumped to 150,000 cubic yards, the acceleration coinciding with BBC’s legal efforts to stop it. Recently, his clients, Bimini Blue Coalition (BBC) were set to present their case against a recent Supreme Court decision to allow dredging to resume, overturning an injunction granted by the Privy Council in London. READ MORE

AFRICA

Mangroves Are Key to Climate Change Mitigation – Workshop
GAMBIA - More than 40 policy makers, researchers and practitioners have taken part in a four-day workshop in Ghana on the theme: West Africa Mangroves - A key to climate change adaptation and mitigation, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. A statement from the public affairs section of the U.S Embassy in Accra said, "In spite of their existing and potential uses for humanity, mangroves remain poorly understood," said Bradley Wallach, USAID West Africa acting mission director. "They are often marginalized in national climate change plans and frequently mismanaged, resulting in the rapid depletion of resources and benefits that they have provided for generations. Through this workshop, USAID is highlighting the importance of the diverse mangrove benefits in the face of climate change." Mangroves, a variety of trees and shrubs that grow along tropical or subtropical coastlines where slow-moving water allows sediments to accumulate, have extensive root systems that protect the coast from erosion and storm damage. On average, two to seven percent of the world's mangroves and other coastal wetland carbon sinks are lost annually. READ MORELAST WORD

Greeting MAP

My name is Ali Wachu from Lower Tana Delta Conservation Trust (LTDCT), a community initiated conservation project funded by European Union through CDTF/BCP to manage, protect and conserve the area’s natural resources as a way of uplifting the living standards of the local people.

The LTDCT covers an area of approximately 50,000ha with a population of about 11,000 people comprising of Farmers, Pastoralists and Fishermen. The Trust area is a unique ecosystem endowed with a variety of habitat types that include riverine forests, grasslands, woodlands, bush lands, lakes, mangroves and coastal waters (with coral and sea grass beds) among others.

The conservancy is facing the following challenges:-
1. Illegal land acquisition/sale within the conservancy.
2. Siltation of wetlands in the conservation area.
3. Marine water intrusions during high tides.
4. High concentration of livestock.
5. Uncontrolled land allocation for development projects.
6. Increased human wildlife conflicts due to drying up of wetlands, loss of fish breeding grounds, wildlife watering and grazing areas among others.

On behalf of the LTDCT, I wanted to bring the issue of the Lower Tana Delta to your attention, and I am further requesting the assistance of the Mangrove Action Project, in any way possible, and perhaps to petition the Kenyan President Hon. UHURU KENYATTA to:-
1. Nullify of all title deeds within the Lower Tana Delta Conservancy (LTDCT) including LR 17600, LR 17601/1, LR 17601/2 and LR 25200
2. Land adjudication and allocation so that the local community can rightfully own this area through the conservancy
3. Development of a memorandum of understanding between River Tana Water Users from the catchment area all the way to the delta in order to safeguard the interest of the local people downstream.

~ WE WELCOME YOUR LETTERS - If you’d like to have the last word on this or any other mangrove related topic, please send us your submission for upcoming newsletters. We’ll choose one per issue to have “the last word”. While we can’t promise to publish everyone’s letter, we do encourage anyone to post comments on our Blog at www. mangroveactionproject.blogspot.com

Please cut and paste these news alerts/ action alerts on to your own lists and contacts. Help us spread the word and further generate letters of concern, as this can make a big difference in helping to halt a wrongdoing or encourage correct action.

My name is Ali Wachu from Lower Tana Delta Conservation
Trust (LTDCT), a community initiated conservation project funded by European
Union through CDTF/BCP to manage, protect and conserve the area’s natural
resources as a way of uplifting the living standards of the local people.

The LTDCT covers an area of approximately 50,000ha with a
population of about 11,000 people comprising of Farmers, Pastoralists and
Fishermen. The Trust area is a unique ecosystem endowed with a variety of
habitat types that include riverine forests, grasslands, woodlands, bush lands,
lakes, mangroves and coastal waters (with coral and sea grass beds) among
others.

This unique diversity of habitat types is reciprocated by the existence
of high diversity of flora and fauna and their life supporting systems thereby
making the area to be one of Kenya’s high biodiversity hotspots.

The high diversity has resulted from a long history of river
dynamics and associated revolutionary processes driven by environmental factors
like water salinity, soil deposition/erosion, topography and coastal influence
that necessitate the formation of river channels, cut-off levees, meanders,
ox-bow lakes and the ever changing micro-topography.

The unique interaction between and amongst flora and fauna
in a dynamic and continuously changing marine and fresh water ecosystems makes
it a special area for evolution of high biological diversity. The habitats and
ecosystems in this area are of high quality because an estimated 80% of the
complex estuarine/deltaic system is intact and functional.

The area is a crucial
breeding ground for many animal species such as the Nile crocodile, the green
turtle, birds, shrimp and crabs. It is also an important ecosystem that acts as
a staging, resting and nesting ground for resident and migratory water birds.
The flood plains also form a crucial dispersal zone for wildlife and livestock
during the dry season. The area has been assigned Eco-regional importance under
the East African Marine Eco-region (EAME) because of its being a system of
diverse wetlands composed of fresh, brackish, saline and marine waters with
associated flora and fauna. It is home to the highest concentration of
Heritiera littolis mangrove species within the region.

The Tana Delta (which the conservancy is part of) is
recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in addition to its importance as a
habitat for both migratory and resident birds.

Over two hundred and seventy
(270) species of birds have been recorded in the delta with some being endemic
and/or threatened. Twenty-two (22) internationally important populations of
water birds have been recorded in the Tana Delta (Bennun and Njoroge, 1999).
Over two hundred and eighty (280) plant species and thirty-five (35) different
mammalian species have been recorded in the area. The Delta has also been
declared as a Ramsar Site and more so the communities of the conservancy are in
the process of establishing a Community Forest Association (CFA). The benefits
of the project to the community include the following:-

1.The conservancy has employed 60 people as Community
Rangers, Tour Guides, Lodge attendants (the Trust are 20% shareholders of the
lodge within the conservancy named Delta Dunes Lodge), watchmen, coxswains and
drivers.

2. The conservancy has also assisted several community
projects such as renovation of Nduru Primary School, payment of 30% community
contribution for the construction of Shirikisho Primary School water tank,
assistance in the preparation of the Bills of Quantities for Semikaro
Dispensary, construction of fish ponds and purchase of water pump for Darga
galgi fish farmers CBO. Delta Dunes Lodge which is within the conservancy also
did the following for the benefit of the Trust and the people; construction of
Chole Nursery School at Darga Galgi, provision of school learning materials and
payment of salary for the nursery school teacher, supply of school learning
materials to all primary schools in the conservancy among others.

3. Provision of school bursaries to needy students from the
conservancy area.

4. The lodge also provides annual scholarships to bright
students from the conservancy area.

The project has provided a ready market for the local arts
and artifacts. Despite the above benefits the conservancy is facing the
following challenges:-

1.Illegal land acquisition/sale within the
conservancy.

In 1992 a private shrimp aquaculture development
company illegally acquired 10,000 hectares of prime conservation land in the
area (LR. No.17600 and 17601/2) and the Government of Kenya repossessed it
through a Presidential Decree vide Ref. No. OP/9/32a dated 6th October 1993 and
formed the Tana Delta Wetlands Steering Committee (TDWSC) to coordinate land
use planning for the area and finally develop a management plan to ensure
sustainable use of natural resources. The local communities also took
initiatives focusing on the formation of Community Based Organisations (CBOs)
through technical support from EAWLS and KWS. The resultant CBOs were involved
in natural resource conservation, management, utilisation and advocacy within
the same area. The TDWSC did not complete their mandate of developing a
management plan for the area. Due to this the area conservation CBOs merged to
form the Lower Tana Delta Conservation Trust (LTDCT) in order to prepare a
management plan and eventually own the land on behalf of the local community. The
communities have already prepared a land use and a management plan for the
area. All these efforts were being done in order to secure the community land
rights/ownership as per the new constitution. On 22/05/2011 as we were in the
process of preparing the management plan we were surprised by a gazette notice
auctioning the same piece of land (LR 17600 and 17601/2) through the Nation
Newspaper. We then liaised with Government agencies and other stakeholders whereby
a caveat emptor was issued to stop the auction. A delegation was sent to the
then Land Minister Hon. James Orengo and he promised to reply after going
through our records which he never did. We also sent a delegation to the then
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga whereby an inter-ministerial committee being
chaired by his office came to the Tana Delta to solicit for views for the
preparation of a land use and management plan for the entire Delta which a
draft land use and a management plan is ready. As we are waiting for this
committee to complete their Terms of Reference (ToR), we are again surprised by
yet another gazette notice auctioning 1000 acres of land in the conservancy in
the Xpat Link Magazine.

2. Siltation of wetlands in the conservation area due to
accelerated soil erosion from catchment deforestation, overgrazing and river
diversions.

3. Marine water intrusions during high tides of the ocean
due to less volume of water flowing downstream with little force to counter
tidal waters entering through the estuary due to catchments degradation,
damming and prolonged droughts thereby changing the biodiversity of the
conservancy and hence reducing wildlife grazing areas.

4. High concentration
of livestock during dry seasons due to the shrinking river and flood plain
wetlands leading to resource-use conflicts and tribal animosities

5. Uncontrolled land allocation for development projects
whose negative environmental impacts are threatening biodiversity and the
livelihood of dependent communities.

6. Increased human
wildlife conflicts due to drying up of wetlands, loss of fish breeding grounds,
wildlife watering and grazing areas among others.

On behalf of the LTDCT, I wanted to bring the issue of the
Lower Tana Delta to your attention, and I am further requesting the assistance
of the Mangrove Action Project, in any way possible, and perhaps to petition
the Kenyan President Hon. UHURU KENYATTA to:-

1. Nullify of all title deeds within the Lower Tana Delta
Conservancy (LTDCT) including LR 17600, LR 17601/1, LR 17601/2 and LR 25200

2. Land adjudication and allocation so that the local
community can rightfully own this area through the conservancy

3. Development of a memorandum of understanding between
River Tana Water Users from the catchment area all the way to the delta in
order to safeguard the interest of the local people downstream.